Is your campaign communications plan stuck in 2000 or, worse yet, in the '90s?  It is if, either intentionally or not, you have not embraced the power of an effective online communications plan.  If you are still relying on old media - direct mail and, if your budget allows, television, be prepared to be left behind in the 2008 campaign season. 

The proliferation of online tactics can be overwhelming to even the most Internet savvy.  It's understandable that a natural reaction may be to stick your head in the sand and hope that it will all go away!  But, a better approach is to take a systematic, step by step approach, building an online media portfolio in much the same way that one would build a personal investment portfolio.  Determine your goals and resources and balance risk and reward.

To illustrate the concept, let's look at a hypothetical campaign with an overall budget of $100,000.  (Yes, this is a modest amount - a winning congressional campaign will cost over $1,000,000.)  We usually recommend allocating 10-20% of the overall budget to online media.  For this example, let's use 15% and set the online budget at $15,000.  How should you use that $15,000?

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